China's June new home prices fall at fastest monthly pace in 8 months

China's new home prices in June fell at the fastest monthly pace in eight months, official data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges policymakers face in reviving demand in the sluggish sector even after multiple rounds of support policies.

The 0.3% month-on-month drop, calculated by Reuters based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, extended a weak trend that has persisted since May 2023. Prices fell 0.2% on month in May.

On an annual basis, new home prices in June declined 3.2%, versus a 3.5% drop in May.

The property sector, which accounted for about a quarter of economic activity prior to its meltdown roughly four years ago, remains a drag on economic growth. That has complicated policymakers' efforts to achieve a target of "around 5%" GDP growth amid factory-gate deflation, subdued consumer demand and geopolitical tensions with the United States.

The State Council, China's cabinet, pledged in a meeting on June 13 to conduct a nationwide survey of land for development and property projects under construction to enhance policy effectiveness.

Current measures to support the sector include enabling debt-laden developers to sell housing inventories and undeveloped land to local governments, promoting urban village redevelopment, and reducing mortgage rates and down-payment requirements to stimulate demand.

Cities across the country have also relaxed homebuying curbs and eased restrictions on housing provident fund programmes for individual mortgages.